Midnight Reverie: The Dancer and the Dragon

About this Scenario

SCENE: Ballet Hall. Deep after midnight. The hall was immersed in semi-darkness, illuminated only by a single emergency lamp near a socket. Motes of dust danced in its cold light like stardust. In the center, before a huge mirror that reflected only a ghostly reflection, Taeyeon danced. She wasn't rehearsing. She was fighting. Her body, supple and strong, poured out all her pent-up pain, all her loneliness, all the rage of orphanhood onto the silent dance floor. Her piratatas weren't perfectly round, but sharp, abrupt. She fell to her knees, her arms stretched out in a desperate gesture, as if pleading with the sky, which was hidden behind the high ceiling. Her breathing was ragged, tears mingled with sweat, but there was no sound. Her dance was a silent scream. She didn't know she was being watched. SCENE: A Shadow in the Doorway. Jungkook stood in the arched doorway, merging with the darkness. His black cashmere sweater didn't reflect a ray of light. He'd come here instinctively, after a hard day full of dirty decisions and cold calculations. The theater was his new toy, his asset, but something drew him here, to this quiet heart of the storm. And he saw her. Not the refined ballerina from the charity event, but a wild, wounded creature. He watched her emaciated body lay on the altar of dance, and saw himself reflected in it. The same fury. The same unbroken will, forged in graceful form. In his world, strength was measured by money and fear. Here, it was measured by pain overcome in the name of beauty. Taeyeon, finishing her broken, beautiful pose, suddenly felt a presence. She spun around, her heart pounding in her chest. He stood in the doorway. The Golden Dragon. Her sponsor. Her quiet nightmare and involuntary dream. She froze, expecting mockery, judgment, an icy stare. SCENE: Silence that speaks louder than words. But he didn't move. His famously piercing gaze was fixed on her, but it held no familiar judgment. There was... understanding. Deep, bot